A law professor at the center of a growing debate about racist comments he allegedly made in lecture spoke out for the first time since the controversy arose at an open meeting Friday.

Professor Leonard Kaplan is currently under scrutiny by members of the community and University of Wisconsin students after he allegedly made several comments about Hmong culture during a Feb. 15 lecture.

According to fellow law professor Ann Althouse, Kaplan briefly attended a weekly faculty meeting Friday to defend his comments.

"He said he didn't say them but understands why he was misunderstood and that he is preparing a response that is both compassionate and appropriate for a law professor," Althouse said. "Mostly he talked about how he cared about the law school — he emphasized the support he's heard from colleagues."

Althouse said Kaplan understands the sensitive issues involved and added he left the meeting allowing further discussion among the faculty.

When contacted by The Badger Herald Sunday, Kaplan declined further comment until he releases his response.

The Committee for Academic Freedom and Rights also released a statement Friday regarding the core issue of the debate — academic freedom — and criticized the law school's response.

According to the statement, which was signed by Althouse, committee president and law professor Donald Downs and several other committee members, the committee was "dismayed" by the law school's response to the dispute.

At a forum at the law school Thursday, students in Kaplan's class, along with several student organizations and community members, spoke out against the professor's comments. But because Kaplan did not attend, many saw the debate as one-sided.

It was a student's decision to spread awareness of Hmong culture at the March 1 forum, Althouse said, but she criticized the law school's choice to not become more involved.

"[The administration] could have controlled the message and presented it in a more multi-dimensional way," Althouse said. "Somebody representing Kaplan should have been there — I think that did him a great disservice."

The administration, Althouse added, trusted the students to ensure a fair presentation.

Law School Dean Ken Davis agreed that the organization of the forum was entirely dependent on students.

According to students who attended a private meeting with Kaplan five days after the incident, the professor attempted to turn the situation into a learning opportunity with a debate.

The proposed debate incited criticism from Mai Der Yang, who is in Kaplan's legal process class but was not present at the Feb. 15 lecture.

"He encouraged us to come to class with a statement to where we could engage in a public forum to discuss and debate whether his comments where true," Yang said at the forum. "He expected citations where we got this information."

The Academic Freedom Committee's statement said there was concern with the fallout from the public forum.

"There is a distinct possibility that the emotion and pressures surrounding this case, especially after the public meeting at the law school, … will have a chilling effect on honest and good faith discussion of racial and cultural issues in class and on campus," the statement said.